What is the difference between goals and objectives?
In any career, it is important to understand goals and their benefits for both you and your organization. A goal is a desired end result to which a commitment is made. Goals are set in the workplace to motivate individuals toward task completion and to enhance their efficiency and productivity. The more specific and refined your goals, the more successful you will be at achieving them.
Although the words ”goals” and ”objectives” are often used interchangeably, they have different meanings.
Whereas a goal indicates a target to be reached, an objective identifies the factors, competencies, or abilities required to meet a goal.
For example, suppose your organization’s goal is to deliver 100 widgets to a client this week. To reach this goal, the production department must meet its objective to produce 100 widget casings. In addition, the packaging department must meet its objective to package 100 widgets and the shipping department must meet its objective for on-time delivery.
What are the benefits of setting goals?
Goal setting provides benefits to both the individual and the organization. The primary benefit of goal setting, increased productivity, stems from these individual benefits:
Clarified expectations ensure that employees clearly understand expectations and do not waste valuable time on misdirected efforts.
Employees feel satisfaction with their performance and their jobs in general when they accomplish goals. A sense of pride can translate into higher levels of motivation and continued achievement.
Goals give managers and supervisors an impartial method for evaluating and recognizing the employees performance. Public recognition can induce healthy competition among employees, which can inspire them to continually improve their performance.
Successful experiences tend to generate higher levels of motivation and boosts in self-confidence. When employees achieve goals, they are willing to accept more challenging goals and perform at higher levels.
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